Nut-lock.



J. P. SPEGK.

NUT LOOK.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 21, 1910.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. SPECK, 0F HEWITT, OKLAHOMA.

NUT-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 13, 1910 Applicationfiled May 21, 1910. Serial No. 562,697.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs F. SPEoK, citizen of the United States,residing at Hewitt, in the county of Carter and State of Oklahoma, haveinvented certain new and useful. Improvements in Nut-Locks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in nutlocks, and the invention has for its object a quite eflicient device ofthis character which is designed particularly for use in connection withrail joints, and which includes a chair adapted to receive and supportthe meeting ends of the rail sections, and a single member connected tothe chair to engage with and positively look all of the nuts at thejoint, the said member being movable relatively to the chair in order torelease all the nuts simultaneously, when occasion requires.

A further object of the invention is a device of this character whichserves to materially increase the strength and rigidity of the joint,and which obviates the necessity of employing track walkers to inspectthe joints and tighten the nuts.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists essentially in certainconstructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shallhereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing de scription and accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is asectional perspective view showing a rail joint equipped with myimproved nut lock; Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof; Fig. 3 is adetail perspective view of the rail chair, showing the locking meanscarried thereby, the pivoted plate being removed.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the samereference characters.

The present invention is designed particularly for use in connectionwith rail joints, and, for the purpose of illustration, is shown anddescribed as applied to the meeting ends of the companion rail sections1 which may be of the usual or any desired construction or design.

A fish plate 2 lies against one side of the meeting ends of the railsections and conforms to the contour thereof so as to fit snuglythereagainst, the upper end of the fish plate fitting beneath theoverhanging tread portions of the rail sections, and the lower endportion of the fish plate extending entirely over the adjacent baseflanges. At its lower end the fish plate is integral with asubstantially flat base plate 3 that extends transversely beneath themeeting ends of the rail sections and forms a support therefor, arelatively short lip 4 upstanding substantially perpendicularly from thebase plate 2 and engaging the corresponding base flanges to hold therail sections against lateral movement relative to the base plate andthus maintain the rail sections in alinement at all times. The baseplate, fish plate, and lip co-act to constitute a chair for thereception of the meeting ends of the rail sections. The fish plate 2 isformed in proximity to its opposite ends with pairs of longitudinallyspaced openings 5 which register with the usual openings that extendtransversely through the web portions of the meeting ends of the railsections. A plurality of bolts 6 are passed respectively through theseregistering openings to connect the meeting ends of the rail sectionstogether, the bolts being engaged by nuts 7 that are all arranged inabutting relation to, and are screwed up tight against the fish plate.

The specific locking means consists esseutially of a single keeper bar 8which is substantially straight throughout its length and hassubstantially parallel side edges, the keeper bar being sup )orted fromthe fish plate above the nuts 7 and being disposed longitudinally, thatis, in the direction of the length of the rail. The ends of the keeperbar are bent substantially perpendicularly as indicated at 9, and bearrespectively against the opposing faces of cars 10 that projectsubstantially perpendicularly outwardly and laterally from the upper endof the fish plate, the ears being preferably located at the side orvertical edges of the fish plate, as shown. The cars and bent ends 9 arecorrespondingly perforated, and a pivot pin 11 is passed through eachadjacent ear and bent end 9 so as to pivotally connect the looking barto the fish plate to turn about a longitudinal horizontal axis. Theplurality of locking tongues 12 are extended angularly from one of theside edges of the keeper bar,

at suitable longitudinally spaced points. Each locking tongue liessubstantially in the plane of the keeper bar and is disposedsubstantially perpendicularly to the length thereof.

In its normal or operative position the keeper bar is disposed on theopposite side of its pivotal axis from the fish plate 2, and lies in asubstantially vertical plane with its lower edge bearing upon the upperperipheral faces of all of the nuts 7, which are turned square for thispurpose. The tongues depend from the keeper bar and fit snugly betweenthe nuts of the respective pairs whereby to positively hold the nutsagainst turning movement. In addition to this function, the lockingtongues serve to weight the keeper bar to hold the same in an operativeposition against accidental swinging movement away from the nuts.

When it is desired to simultaneously release all of the nuts, it ismerely necessary to lift the keeper bar to swing the same ,away from thenuts so that the locking tongues are withdrawn from between the same. Itwill therefore be apparent that the release of the nuts may beexpeditiously effected, and does not involve any injury to the parts ofthe nut lock as would hinder or prevent its reuse.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to use inconnection with rail joints, but is susceptible of general applicatlon.

If desired, the chair may also include a fish plate 13 which ispivotally connected to the lip 4 to turn about a longitudinal axis, thefish plate being adapted, to be swung against adjacent sides of the railsections and being formed with openings through which the bolts 6 arepassed. By employing this second fish plate, a more complete chair isprovided.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

The combination with a rail chair including a base plate, and a fishplate upstanding from one side thereof, the fish plate being formed withpairs of longitudinally spaced bolt openings; of a keeper bar disposedlongitudinally above the bolt openings and pivotally connected to thefish plate to turn about a longitudinal axis, and longitudinally spacedlocking tongues extended angularly from one longitudinal edge of thekeeper bar and normally depending therefrom between'the bolt openings ofeach pair.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES F. SPECK. [L.s.]

\Vitnesses J. H. CoRLooK, W. P. HIGGINS.

